Monthly Archives : August 2020

Rhode Island has been allocated $6.8 million from the federal government to capitalize and administer Revolving Loan Funds for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Wednesday.

The R.I. Commerce Corp. will receive $6 million of the funds and the Providence Business Loan Fund will receive $836,000 of the grants. Commerce will use the money to oversee an RLF that will provide gap financing and loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses across Rhode Island while the Providence Business Loan Fund will use the money to capitalize and administer an RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted small businesses in the city of Providence.

The grants come from the U.S. Department’s Economic Development Administration in the form of Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Recovery Assistance grants.

The SBA announced the updated interest rates for the 504 Loan Program offered by Certified Development Companies (CDC). Small businesses can now apply for the lowest interest rates since July 2018 as the program is now allowing 20 and 25-year interest rates at 2.214% and 2.269%, respectively. “These interest rates and maturities are going to allow businesses to grow or expand their businesses while insulating them with a very manageable monthly payment,” said Mark S. Hayward, SBA District Director. “Certified Development Companies are the lifeblood of the 504 Loan Program. These longer terms and very low interest rates are going to allow entrepreneurs to truly invest in their businesses.” he added. 

We are pleased to share the positive news that Rhode Island is among the best states in America for getting our economy back to where it was before the COVID pandemic. R.I. is ranked the 6th best “Back to Normal” state in the country, according to CNN/Moody’s. That places RI significantly ahead of our neighboring states, including Massachusetts (#45) and Connecticut (#23).

Learn more:  www.cnn.com/business/us-economic-recovery-coronavirus

With your help, PMPA was successful in preventing the imposition of 50% tariffs on Copper based alloys  from EU countries proposed as part of the AIRBUS 301 dispute.

The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI expanded in July for the first time since January, buoyed by recoveries in demand and production. Output grew at the fastest pace since December 2018 as the sector continues to bounce back from COVID-19 and the severe worldwide recession. Manufacturers expressed cautious optimism about future production. Manufacturers continue to advance efforts with the administration and Congress to open markets, ensure trade certainty and address challenges overseas. Their measures include the following:

• Monitoring rising tensions in the U.S.–China security, trade and economic relationship
• Elevating manufacturers’ fight against fake and counterfeit goods
• Leading industry advocacy in support of a congressional passage of a comprehensive Miscellaneous Tariff Bill
• Characterizing the Trump administration’s decision to reimpose aluminum tariffs from Canada as a step backward for the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement

Submitting comments to the Trump administration on a series of trade enforcement investigations, including the U.S.–EU large civil aircraft dispute, digital services taxes and imports of vanadium.

United States manufacturing improved again in July with a key gauge of activity rising further into expansion territory. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, said Monday that its manufacturing index rose to 54.2 last month, up from a June reading of 52.6. Any reading above 50 signals that U.S. manufacturing is expanding.

Manufacturing production rebounded for the third straight month, rising by 3.4% in July. Despite progress over the past few months, output in the sector has fallen 7.7% year-over-year, with durable and nondurable goods output down 9.3% and 5.4%, respectively. Manufacturing capacity utilization rose 69.2% in July, although that is still down from 75.2% in February.

There were 336,000 manufacturing job openings in June, up from 306,000 in May, which had been the slowest pace since October 2016. Overall, job postings have drifted significantly lower over the past year-a trend that began before the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, there were 486,000 and 360,000 job openings

The U.S. experienced a surprisingly robust uptick in job openings and hiring in June, according to Bloomberg, even as COVID-19 has since caused some state reopenings to stall or reverse. The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed the number of available positions rising to 5.89 million in June, up from 5.37 million in May.

The manufacturing numbers: Job openings included 336,000 in the manufacturing industry in June, up from 306,000 in May. According to NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray: “Manufacturers hired 441,000 workers in June, down from an all-time high of 523,000 in May and up from 299,000 and 326,000 in March and April, respectively. At the same time, total separations bounced back somewhat from 285,000 in May, the lowest since November 2016, to 386,000 in June.”